Ordinarily cars are allowed to race for position after the safety car has gone in once they pass the safety car line – a white line which, at Monaco, is near the pit lane entrance after Rascasse.

Replays showed Schumacher was still behind Alonso at that line, and passed him on the way into Anthony Noghes.

However the regulations suggest that on the last lap of the race if the safety car is brought in, such passes are not allowed, and the drivers must cross the finishing line without passing:

If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pitlane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.Sporting regulations article 40.13

Ross Brawn claimed after the race that they believed the safety car was being brought in on the last lap but the race was not ending at that point, meaning they were allowed to overtake between the safety car line and the finishing line.

He also refuted a suggestion that Schumacher had passed under yellow flags.

Among the stewards this weekend is former F1 champion Damon Hill acting as a drivers’ advisor. Hill had several controversial run-ins with Schumacher in his time as a driver, but said yesterday he would not let that influence his judgement if he had to make any calls involving his former rival.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifth, saw the incident in his rear view mirror. According to McLaren’s live text, before the safety car came in his team advised him “the cars will proceed to the pits and no overtaking.”

Do you think Schumacher should keep sixth place? Have your say in the comments.

The thing is the rules a contradictory. 40.13 states that he should be penalised, but that other rule says that once they cross that line they’re allowed to race. So the question is which takes precedence? Normally in law, the most recent law sort of overwrites the old one. So from my point of view, it needs to be cleared up and the regulations rewritten, but Schumacher keeps the place.

Gotta love the cheek of the old-timer… I have no great love for Alosno, I think he’s proud and spoiled, but a great driver none-the-less. Still, he’s no match for the Great Schumi who infruriated me for so many years!

Well… I had the chance to see the whole situation again, and now I agree with Brawn. Stewards gave no indication that the race was ending under safety car conditions. They informed the teams that the track was clean, they waved green flags and the light was green. Green means GO. Michael shouldn’t be punished for doing his job.

More wonderful vagueness from the lawyers… all those millions and they can’t compile a coherent set of rules. Leaving Brawn’s seemingly valid points aside, article 40.13 makes no sense. If the car is STILL deployed, i.e. doesn’t peel off as it did on this occasion, how the hell can it enter the pitlane ‘at the end of the LAST lap’? If it enters at the end of the last lap, then it is no longer deployed, that’s where the confusion arises.

As it stands though, despite Ross’s little print out, Alonso has to be given the place back. The race was ‘ending’ with the car deployed, it entered the pitlane at the end of the last lap, and the cars took the chequered flag as normal, so there can be no overtaking. But what a bloody shambles caused, once again, by wilfully vague rules.

The rule is entirely clear, the problem you’ve described is with the notifications given by the race director, i.e. does “safety car in this lap” mean the race is finishing under safety car conditions or that the race is back on? Ferrari say they believed the race was ending under safety car conditions, Mercedes are arguing that they had good reason to believe the race was back on. But the wording of the rule is not to blame.

The presence of the safety car isn’t a prerequisite for safety car conditions to be in force – they aren’t the same thing. There have been many situations where the safety car has pulled off the track before the point that racing can resume. At that point, the leader effectively becomes the safety car and safety car conditions remain in force, i.e. no overtaking, until the line.

Okay, fair enough, BUT if this was the case then the yellows would have to have continued to be displayed, which they WERE NOT indeed green flags were being waved which to me and apparently to Brawn and Schumacher that race conditions were in place and I have to agree with them, but even if it was illegal then the penalty was still to harsh and he should only be dropped to 7th as an absolute maximum penalty

Guys, everybody refer to 40.13, but nobody to the part (new for 2010 season)of chapter SC, so here you are:
“When the safety car is ready to leave the circuit it extinguishes its orange lights, indicating to the drivers that it will peel off into the pits at the end of the current lap. The drivers then continue in formation until they cross the first safety-car line where green lights will indicate that they are free to race again.”
This is the true case in Monaco!!!

In addition to beaker post – it’s very simple to determine which is the case:
SIGNALS FROM SC AND STEWARDS!!!!!!!!!
SC – orange lights!
and
Stewards – GREEN flags and no table SC!
You can see it very clear in YouTube!

1) MSC and ALO swap places, and the wording of 40.13 will be made more specific for the next GP, or

2) MSC keeps his place, and 40.13 is reworded for clarity. Drivers will be trying to back the field behind to ensure that they aren’t jumped at the restart.

The last outcome which could have happened in darker, less sane years would be to give MSC a 25-second penalty, which would drop him dead last. Of course there will be protests and denunications of the stewards, especially of a certain Mr D. Hill if it happens.

now again started….Schumi controversy bla bla bla…it is not controversy alonso was just slowing down too much….Keith ur keeping ur eyes wide open to see if u can get some news to spank Schumi…..ridiculous ..Just post on Webber’s brilliant win rather than these

You expect him not to post on the biggest talking point of the race? It’s not controversy? Then why has it been referred to the stewards, why are Ferrari protesting? Don’t be ridiculous, if you’re not interested in a detailed analysis of the race why are you even here, just go read the results on Yahoo.

What do u expect a driver to do when a guy infront of him slowed down drastically?I just meant to say that it was not a controversy just a incident(u can call it major as it was between two champs)But the title of this post does not bode well.I could not find a source where they say it is a controversy…Only u guys say so…